Contra ReBirth
is a 2D run-and-gun platformer video game developed by M2 and published by Konami of America exclusively for the Nintendo Wii via its WiiWare service. It is the twelfth original installment in the ''Contra series, being part of Konami's "ReBirth" series, along with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth and Gradius ReBirth. The game was released in Japan on May 12, 2009, PAL Regions on September 4, 2009, and North America on September 7, 2009. As of September 24, 2009 it has been released worldwide. With the announcement of the closure of the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel, the purchase of Contra Rebirth on the Nintendo Wii will officially be discontinued in 2019. However, Contra Rebirth is coming back for the Nintendo Switch alongside the fourth title. Plot In 2633, the Neo-Salamander Force, led by their mysterious leader Chief Salamander, travels to the year 1973 to eliminate the "Contra" force while Earth's defenses are still primitive. They end up setting base on the ruins of the Shizuoka temple at the Yucatán peninsula in Central America. Bill Rizer and Genbei Yagyu, two members of the present day Contra team, are deployed by the Galactic President to travel back in time in order to stop them. With the help of BR-W9, an android shaped like a little girl, and Newt Plissken, a tall lizard-like humanoid alien, the Contra warriors manage to take down the Neo-Salamander Force. However, Chief Salamander is nowhere to be found. In the true ending of the game, it is revealed Chief Salamander was actually Plissken all along, who infiltrated the Contra unit under an assumed name. Gameplay Contra ReBirth retains the same sprite-based side-scrolling gameplay as the series' earlier installments. The game can be played with the standard Wii Remote, as well as with the Classic Controller or a Nintendo GameCube controller. As with most Contra games, up to two players can play simultaneously. The player initially has a choice between two different player characters: Bill Rizer, the traditional Contra hero, or Genbei Yagyu from Neo Contra. Two additional characters: BR-W9 (also known as "Brownie" and called Tsugu-Min in the Japanese version), an android shaped like a little girl; and Plissken, a tall lizard-like humanoid alien (whose name is a tribute to the Snake Plissken movie character), can also be selected once the player has completed the game on Easy (BR-W9) and Normal (Plissken). The dual weapon system from Contra III: The Alien Wars returns and the player's normal gun can now shoot in auto-fire once again. The power-ups in this installment consists of a Spread Shot, a Laser Gun, and a Homing Gun. The traditional Flame Thrower, however, is missing. Playing on the Easy setting will allow the player to always keep their current weapon after losing a life, a feature not available in any of the other settings. The game consists of five stages; however, the final boss stage, along with the true ending, cannot be accessed when playing on the Easy difficulty setting. Stages *'Stage 1': Satellite Warzone *'Stage 2': Dystopian Metropolis *'Stage 3': Armageddon Highway *'Stage 4': Hollow Netherworld *'Stage 5': Red Falcon Megalith *'Stage 6': Lunar Ultimatum Audio The game's soundtrack was composed by Manabu Namiki, who worked on the other titles in the "ReBirth" series. The music consists of remixes of previous Contra songs. The official album was released on March 24, 2010 in a compilation with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth's music. Critical reception Overall, Contra ReBirth was received positively, with GameRankings rating the game 76.67% positive, and Metacritic giving the game 76/100. It was also rated one of the most underrated action games of the year and was nominated Game of the Year by Nintendo Power, as well as Best Action Game, as well as WiiWare Game of the Year and Best Action Game. Trivia *The Character Select theme is an arrangement of the Player Select theme from Contra Force. * Dr. Venom, an iconic antagonist from the Gradius series, makes a cameo on a few advertisements found along the city streets. *The Galactic President's appearance is inspired by revolutionary commander Ernesto "Che" Guevara. *During the ending of Stage 3, an illustration is shown that parodies Escape to Victory (1981), a movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and soccer legend "Pelé". es:Contra ReBirth Category:Wii games Category:ReBirth